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In the quiet of the ride home, Malory was content to let Eles's thought silently churn and simply watched the process. It couldn't be said that the other boy wore every thought and emotion on his sleeve, but it was somewhat magical to know that in some ways, Eles was filling in his own existence right before Malory's eyes. It was fascinating, and he could help the little tug of envy it instilled.

After sending off the driver, he led the other to through the gate, turning over the question for a sincerely serious moment before offering, "Then I suppose I'll have to help you keep it interesting, yes?"

Before they reached the stairs, the sound of paws barreling through the grass filled the morning quiet, and three black dogs burst into view. There were wildly wagging tails, and some gymnastic as the smallest one vaulted over one of the others. For a moment it seemed they'd mob the two boys, all pushy paws and slobbers, but then, about five feet from Malory, they abruptly sat down, eyes gleaming with expectation and readiness.

"Eles," Malory began, "this is Dirk Bladegod the Excellent, Dreary Day Raven Sway, and Darkest Knightsbane. Say hello to Eles." The command was mild, but immediately the dogs each presented their new guest with a paw.

Seeing Eles squat down and shake paws, Malory found himself grinning and knew it was more genuinely bright and boyish than he generally preferred, but when it came to the three dogs, he couldn't bring himself to put up an act. Giving each of them a brief head rub and affectionate murmur, he sent them running to the back yard with a quiet, "Go back and play."

About to head up the stairs to the large porch, Malory caught Eles's question and paused. Expression still bright and giving, for a brief moment, a glimpse of the child he might have been, he responded, "They're great, right? I spent a whole week making sure I came up with good ones."

He led the other boy up the stairs, into the shade of the porch, and opened the front door without bringing out a key. The inside, at a glance, matched the outside for its size, its ornate detail and Victorian trappings. Not quite as coherent at Malory's parents intended and preferred, but they hadn't been back here since his high school graduation, and he favored comfort and whimsy over period accuracy and cohesive aesthetic. Certain things stood out right away, like the amount of mirrors. The oil portraits of a certain boy growing up. And...the smell of food.

"Are you hungry?" Malory slid another smile Eles's way, this one not innocent at all. Another debt, it said.

"You may not eat my dogs." The answer was solemn and smiling, clearly both enjoying the little joke while also planning on where to bury a body if necessary. There were lines, after all. Inviting a strange, amnesiac, potential serial killer into his home was one thing. His dogs were quite another.

That brief, glancing exploration, the clear unfamiliarity, gave Malory the first real feeling of sympathy for the other boy. He knew, though not nearly to this extent, how strange it was to look in a mirror and find someone who was...incorrect. It wasn't something he chose to really acknowledge or address all too often, after all, even the wrong sort of him was still exceptional. But still, it wasn't very nice when it happened, now was it?

The kitchen was brighter than the rest of the house, and as they entered it they were immediately greeted by a small blonde woman in a voluminous blouse and swirling series of skirts. "Breakfast is in the atrium!" Turning to look at Eles, she smiled in greeting, "Don't worry, Em Em messaged ahead, so there's plenty for both of you and I made a blood replenishing, gut-balancing, chakra re-alignment shake on the side."

"Oh how wonderful," Malory offered and was treated to a knowing look and waggled finger in return. The parlor was next to the kitchen, and through it was the small atrium, full of morning light and green, growing things neatly caged within an ornate dome. Their breakfast was at small, equally ornate table and chair set. Fresh fruit, poached eggs, toasts of various sorts, spreads of many a kind, several carafes of juice, and a singular large smoothie, surrounded by crystals at the base.

"In my message I asked her to put peanut butter in it." Malory nodded at the drink as he took his seat, "The first step to...exploring your sensitivities."

"I believe they're supposed to imbue you with...something. Aura healing? Miss Angelica will love to explain, at length, if you decide to ask her." He'd listened to many of her lectures himself, cataloging the pitch of her voice and choreography of hands moreso than whatever she was actually saying.

Malory popped a grape into his mouth and silently mourned the lack of a dog walker this summer. Thackery was always so thoughtful about peeling the grapes. "Don't bother eating any, but maybe they'll work better when fondled?"

He let Eles eat in relative peace, a lull full of birdsong and the steady sound of running water somewhere in the distance. But once he was sure the other wasn't going to pass out from either malnutrition or a nut allergy, Malory asked, "So what would you like to do from here? Is there anything you've found that you want?"

It was such a tantalizing, and maybe a little terrifying, sort of existence. So be exactly at square one; every choice, with its rewards and consequences, clear upon the page, cleanly leading to the next one. It seemed so...uncomplicated. But also very stark and laid bare. The boy before him was stripped down of his history, skinned until all that remained was a physical presence.

Once again, Malory couldn't help that sense of sympathy, hand in hand with an envy for an extreme he'd never actually choose for himself.

The first brought a small, pleased laugh before Malory bit down on a section of pineapple and allowed Eles to continue uninterrupted, simply watching the other, head tilted and with bright-eyed curiosity. He internally decided that this was in order of priority, and that he liked Eles's priorities. Most of the boy's thoughts were fairly practical though, smart even. Which was another piece of filling in that puzzle, wasn't? He'll enjoy feeling out the full twist and stretch of a clever mind.

Sitting back in his seat, slouching low enough that he had look up at Eles's through his eyelashes, Malory finally answered, "The first isn't out of the question, but there are questions, such as...your injuries? Ability? Preferences? But maybe I can help you first with the question of tattoos." He gave a little spin of the finger, as if suggesting Eles do a little turn for him.

"As for the rest, I can give you a job here, complete with personal quarters, food, wages and whatever other benefits Miss Vera gives out. I'm sure it'll involve quite a lot of physical labor, either outside or around the house." He gave Eles a look of vaguely confused commiseration, as if he knew the concept of laborious work but had trouble fathoming the reality of it.

"And if that doesn't appeal to you," he added, "...well, I don't keep people, but as you've seen, I do keep pets." He gave a long pause to help Eles like misunderstand, or at least conjure up some fun imagery at the offer. "Which would mean taking care of things for you; making sure you're well kept and tended to. Keeping you entertained, exercised, and enriched. You wouldn't have to make an overwhelming amount of decisions or feel much in the way of personal responsibility. You'd be praised and rewarded for being good, and firmly, lovingly, trained when you are not."

To Malory, it was the clearly superior offer, what he himself would choose. But while he felt it unlikely to be accepted, he still wanted to make it, if only to see the expressions that would shift across Eles's features as he asked himself if he wanted any pieces of such an existence.

Malory looked at that stretch of back with interest and then sighed as the shirt dropped back down. He didn't tell Eles what he saw just yet. "I think I'll need a closer look," he said in faux apology, sipping at his drink.

The questions were, of course, very reasonable. Appropriately cautious. Pragmatic in a way that was fast becoming familiar. "Pet as in...an existence that relies on me, and prioritizes me. Not to the exclusion of all else, of course. But it'd be a much more shared way of living here. Instead of your own room, you'd stay in my room. Instead of your own paycheck, you would have one of my bank cards."

Eles wasn't wrong, it was a lifestyle, and with the temporary nature of the offer, of their meeting and all its uncertainties, a potentially cruel one in the end. Which, of course, hadn't given Malory a moment of pause when he'd offered.

"As for the rest, it's a process, Eles. Generally a pleasant one," he looked Eles over again, coltish and strange in his own skin. "Come here."

"Like you'd prioritize the sun, fresh air...clean water," Malory replied easily, as if that were reasonable. But he felt it was. Prioritize him like he was necessary for happiness and general survival, but not all the time. Just enough to feel deprived at the lack of him.

Eles followed direction with truly promising alacrity and eagerness. Malory knew that the latter was due to his curiosity, but still, it spoke of a certain comfort level and a continuing lack of caution toward him as a general presence. Sitting up, he pulled Eles closer by the wrist, his other hand reaching around the boy's back, slipping underneath the shirt.

"It's perfect. An entirely blank canvas," he began, fingers sliding up and then, with unerring accuracy, jabbed at a particularly painful spot. "Save for the new bruises coming up, of course."

Looking up with a cheeky smile, he asked, "Where would you like to check next?"